1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to new and improved methodology for the immunodiagnosis of multiple sclerosis and/or malignant diseases from blood sample analysis.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Although a variety of techniques are, of course, known for the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, such techniques will generally be found to be costly and time consuming in requiring relatively lengthy, precise and painstaking patient examination by particularly highly trained neurological specialists in order to arrive at presumably definitive diagnostic results. Furthermore, since multiple sclerosis does not manifest itself in the form of a tumor or like diseased tissue in the body, with the possible exception of change in certain sections of the brain, it will be readily understood by those skilled in this art that traditional malignant disease diagnostic techniques in the nature, for example, of tissue and/or cell biopsy, are totally inapplicable to the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, it having, in any event, proven impossible to date as a practical matter to identify and extract diseased tissue from a live brain for diagnostic study. In addition, and although there are, of course, a wide variety of diverse techniques available for the positive diagnosis of malignant diseases in the nature, for example, of breast cancer, and cancer of the head and neck, which are manifested in the form of diseased tissue, the diagnostic techniques will generally be found to ultimately require surgical removal and analysis of live diseased tissue and/or cell samples, with attendant patient discomfort and need for relatively lengthy, precise and painstaking administration by particularly highly trained medical specialists, to fully validate the results thereof. All of the above is to say that there is not currently known and in use any truly reliable, positive diagnostic technique which requires only blood sample analysis for the valid, specific and clinically reproducible diagnosis of multiple sclerosis and/or malignant diseases.